Newswise — Rolla, Mo. - Dr. Rainer Glaser, professor of chemistry at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has been named chair of chemistry at Missouri University of Science and Technology. His appointment begins Aug. 1.
Glaser takes over from Dr. Philip Whitefield, professor of chemistry, who has served as chair since Sept. 1, 2005. Whitefield will continue to serve Missouri S&T as a chemistry faculty member and as director of the Center for Research in Energy and Environment.
During his tenure at MU, Glaser brought in over $5 million in research and educational funding. He has supervised over 20 dissertations, and his research group has authored over 180 articles in peer-reviewed publications on a broad range of topics. About one fourth of the publications resulted from local, national and international collaborations with colleagues in chemistry, physics, mathematics, biochemistry, science education and journalism.
Glaser is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is an editorial board member of numerous scientific, peer-reviewed publications.
Glaser is an organic and theoretical/computational chemist whose guiding research principle combines modern methods of electronic structure theory with experimental studies to discover new concepts in chemistry. He applies this approach to chemistry studies in anisotropic media, that is, chemistry in structured environments. His research has led to new chemical classifications of optical materials and to the exploration of carbon dioxide capture from rubisco, a crucial enzyme found in every plant. Glaser actively promotes cross-disciplinary science education. He has a professional interest in STEM education, in particular, in the development of research-oriented curricula to teach scientific writing and authoring, publication ethics and scientific communication.
“Dr. Glaser’s expertise in electronic structure theory, organic molecular materials, astrochemistry, chemistry in society and in interdisciplinary science education is an exceptional fit with our strong and growing chemistry department” says Dr. Stephen Roberts, vice provost and dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business at Missouri S&T. “His expertise will not only elevate the research profile of the university, but will help students at all levels succeed in chemistry and many other academic programs.”
Glaser joined the MU faculty as assistant professor of chemistry in 1989. He was promoted to associate professor in 1995 and to full professor in 2003. Since 2010, he has served as a visiting or guest professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Northwest University and Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, and Xiamen University in Xiamen. Glaser teaches classes on organic and computational chemistry at all levels and enjoys bringing global perspectives to his courses. Glaser studied chemistry and physics at the University of Tuebingen and earned a Chemie-Diplom. He holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. His postdoctoral work was done at Yale University and Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.
“I am both pleased and honored to have been selected as chair of chemistry at Missouri S&T,” Glaser says. “I am excited to face new challenges, and I thank the chemistry department and Dean Roberts for the opportunity.”
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